SIERRA RS500 COSWORTH
“SOME 500 ROADGOING EXAMPLES WERE REQUIRED TO SATISFY MOTORSPORT HOMOLOGATION REQUIREMENTS”
If anyone thought the original Sierra Cosworth wasn’t potent enough, then Ford had the solution in the shape of the specialised RS500. However, rather than an attempt to pander to power-crazed motorists, the RS500 was designed to exploit the YB engine’s tuning potential and, ultimately, waste all-comers in Touring Car racing.
Simply christened the RS500 in recognition of the amount of road-going examples that were required to satisfy motorsport homologation requirements, the new Cosworth was hand-assembled by Tickford. The company’s involvement didn’t end there though, Tickford also undertaking a lot of the engineering and durability testing.
Starting with partially-stripped, normal Cosworths, Tickford’s crack team of 44 gave the bulk of the 496 examples (four were previously-built prototypes) the RS500 treatment during July 1987. Most notably, the transformation included the addition of
